Stargazing
by fiveirongolfer
Summary: Jesse is a boy whose best friend just died. Now at Camp Green Lake, everyone makes fun of him for his stutter. Every night he goes on the lake and looks at the stars and thinks of his friend. Will he ever find anything to make him happy again?
1. Big Black Surface

Stargazing

Chapter 1

Jesse and Katie laid on the cold, wet grass and looked at the big black surface above them. "Wow, it's so pretty" said Katie. Jesse turned his head to her and looked into her light, green eyes. "So are you" he said. Katie smiled, "thanks" she said. She looks at him. They both stare at each other for a few moments. Not saying a word.

They turn their heads back towards the black surface. "Maybe we'll see a shooting star" Jesse said. Katie smiled and chuckled, "make a wish" she said. Jesse breathed slowly and calmly as his heart pounded in his stomach. Butterflies fluttered around in his stomach. Finally he spoke after a long time. "Hey Katie"? He said her. "Yeah"? She asked him. "Um. Um. I-I-I-I just w-wanted to say, t-th-that" he began, but was interrupted by Katie. "Look Jesse, a shooting star"! She said, getting up and pointing to it.

Jesse got up and looked the star whiz right past them. "Quick, lets make a wish" Katie said. She grabbed Jesse's hand and held it tightly. Jesse squeezed Katie's hand. _I wish. I wish. I wish that this moment would last forever_, Jesse said in his head. Katie squeezed Jesse's hand as well_. I wish that Jesse will always be my friend. And that he'll live a happy life. _

They both opened their eyes and looked at each other. They didn't say anything as the cool evening breeze swept through them. Jesse's heart was thumping in his chest. He had to say something. He had to break the barrier of silence between them.

"So, what did you wish for"? He asked her. Katie let go of his hand. "I can't tell you. Otherwise it wouldn't come true" she said chuckling. "Yeah, I'm not telling either" Jesse said, chuckling. They both turned back to the look at the sky. They didn't say a word to each other until they left. Many thoughts rushed through their head. They didn't know what to say to each other. They both left after they were very tired and went home.

Jesse laid in his bed and wondered about what happened that night. _Why didn't I do it?_ He thought. _Why didn't I tell her?_ He didn't know an answer to any of these. He sat up in his bed and looked at the moon. He thought of Katie as he looked at it. He didn't want to leave her. He felt safe with her. He went to bed wondering about all the things in his mind. He finally got tired and went to sleep. He woke up with nothing on his mind. Not even Katie. He woke up with a fresh mind. With no ideas of what to do that day.


	2. The Truth

Chapter 2

Jesse called Katie that day, hoping to get further than what he'd hoped he'd say last night. The receiver in his hand, his hand shaking. Many thoughts raced through his mind about Katie. The first time they met. They first time they held hands. The first time they would meet every night and watch the stars and not think about anything else. Just being captured in the black surface. Not another single thing on their mind. No cares. No worries. Just being with each other and being lost in the sky.

The receiver still in his hand. "C-c-come on J-Jesse. T-This shouldn't be hard. This is Katie, you know her" he kept saying to himself. He hung up the phone. He picked it back up and dialed. It rang a few times, and then someone answered. "Hello"? Katie said. Jesse felt slightly relieved knowing Katie answered. "Hey Katie, how you doin'"? He asked. "Not bad" she said. Jesse calmed down a bit more. "Hey uh, do you want to go see a movie today"? He asked.

The two both came out of the movie, still laughing. Katie was laughing harder than Jesse was. "You remember that part where the guy said 'Mandy, I love you'"? She said, laughing hysterically. Jesse kept laughing,"yeah and then the girl said, 'Mitch, I'm sorry but I don't love you, let's just be friends', that was one of the best parts" he said. Katie still laughing hard, "yeah". They both walked down the street and into a narrow trail.

They both kept laughing. Jesse thought the movie and his favorite scenes, then he suddenly stopped. He realized that the feelings Mitch had in the movie, he had himself. Katie stopped laughing too when she saw Jesse stop. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue"? She said. Jesse hesitated, "yeah, I guess so".

Jesse still wanted to tell Katie the truth. He finally said to himself, "okay Jesse this is it. In 3...2...1" he said in his head. He turned to Katie. "Katie" he said. Katie had a weird look on her face, "yeah"? She said. Jesse moved his mouth, but nothing came out. "Okay Katie uh..." he began to say. Katie still had the same look on her face. "What, Jesse"? She asked. "I uh...I like you Katie" he said. Katie's face now had a slight smile on it. "Well I like you too Jesse" she said. Jesse sighed and slightly shook his head. "No I mean I _like_ you, Katie" he said. Katie cocked her head, "I don't understand" she said. Jesse's could at least 50 butterflies roam around in his stomach. "I.....I....I love you Katie" he said.


	3. Just Kidding

Chapter 3

"What"? Katie asked, baffled. Jesse hesitates for a moment, then bursts into laughter. "What's so funny"? She asked, still confused. Jesse doesn't say anything for a few seconds, then finally gets enough air to talk. "I was just kidding" he said. Katie cocked her head slightly, "How"? She asked. Jesse still laughs moderately, "I was making fun of the movie, you know how the guy told the girl he loved her"? He said. Katie pauses, then joins him. "Yeah. Good one" she said.

They laugh for a few minutes then stop after if gets old. _What the hell was that?_ Jesse thought to himself. _Just a joke? Only kidding? Jesse, you coward_, he thought again, mad at himself. They come to a souvenir shop and stop to look around. "Hey, let's go there. Let's see what they have" he said. Katie nodded, "okay, sure". The shop was rather large with many booths and toys and books. Jesse and Katie left each other and went their own way. "Hey Katie, come here" Jesse yelled. He sees Katie run around the many corners of the booths and stop right in front of him. He puts on a Mariner's baseball cap and a necklace and says in a high-pitched voice, "Hi, I'm Hannah Dippet. I like music, sports and I believe that good friends never stray away from each other" he said. Katie laughs and so does Jesse.

They both walk down the steep hill that led to their homes. "I had a good time today Katie" Jesse said. Katie smiled and looked at him. "Yeah, me too" she said, still smiling widely. They didn't speak much all the way the home. Jesse was very angry at himself, but showed no sign of it all the way home. _Okay, tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll do it for sure. I'll just have to tell her the truth. The real truth_, he thought again.

They come to the hill that separated them from their homes. "Well, I had good time today Jesse" Katie said. Jesse smiled widely, "me too Katie" he said. They stared at each other for a moment, then when things became too awkward, Jesse left. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow" he said. Katie nodded, "yeah, you too" she said. Jesse didn't say anything for a few seconds, "good-bye" Katie said, and walked away. "Bye" Jesse yelled back. He walked up the hill and into his home.

He lay in bed, angry at himself for acting like such a coward. _You stupid little.....person!_ He said in his head. He didn't want anyone to hear him. _You....just....ugh!_ He yelled in his head. He rolled over and looked outside, no moon, no stars. "Great" he said. And with that done, he rolled over again and went into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, Jesse woke with much less anger on himself than the day before. He walked into the kitchen and saw his mom sitting there, not moving, with the phone right next to her. "Hi Mom" he said. She didn't reply. "Mom"? Jesse asked. His mom slowly looks at him and doesn't say anything. "Mom? You okay" Jesse asked, worried. She didn't anything for a while. "Mom"? Jesse asked again, this time very concerned. He sits down in front of her. "Mom, are you okay"? He asked again. His mom slowly spoke out of her small mouth. "Jesse I just got off the phone with Katie's mother" she said slowly. Jesse feels a very slight sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah"? He asked eagerly. His mom broke into tears, "she uh, she got" she began to say, but her tears cut her off. "What Mom"? Jesse asked impatiently. His mom continues to cry, "she uh. She got beat up by a group of guys on her way home from after you two were separated" she said, crying harder. Jesse tilted his head back as tears began to come out of his blue eyes. "Is she all right" he asked slowly. His mom burst into more tears, making it almost impossible for her to talk. "Mom? Is Katie all right"? Jesse asked slowly, crying now harder than his mom. His mom slowly shook her head, "no son. She died" she said.


	4. It's All My Fault

Chapter 4

Jesse broke into more tears. Katie? Dead? How could it be? He is now crying harder than his mom. He jumps into his mother's arms and she holds him very close and tightly. They didn't say anything for a full 20 minutes. Just crying into each other. Jesse still couldn't believe it. Katie? Dead? He felt like it was all his fault.

"Oh Mom, it's all my fault. I didn't make sure she was safe. I didn't walk with her to her door. I didn't do ANYTHING" he said, still bawling. His mom shakes her head. "No Jesse, it's not. You didn't have anything to do with it. Katie just got mugged and you didn't do anything to start or prevent that" she said. Jesse shook his head, "Mom she didn't deserve it. I should've died not her. She didn't deserve it" he said. He ran into his room without any breakfast, but he didn't care.

Jesse laid on his bed for the whole day. Not moving. Not thinking. He didn't want anything. Just to have Katie back. His Mom came to his door and knocked on his door. "Jesse, I'm gonna leave some food out here in case you get hungry" she said. She waited for any sign of movement. Nothing. She walked away.

His mom came back and saw that the food outside his room was gone. "Jesse, Katie's family is here. We'll be downstairs" she said and waited for signs of movement, nothing. An hour later, Jesse finally got up and came out of his room, still in his pajamas. He saw on the wall, 5 o'clock. He walked downstairs and saw his parents sitting on the couch, Katie's family sitting on the opposite couch. He sat down next to his mom and saw the sad, worried faces. They were the family of the girl he loved. He knew he'd have to talk to them about Katie; the girl he loved. This was it.


	5. Why Does This Have To Happen To Me?

Chapter 5

Jesse sat beside his mom as he watched her talk to Katie's family. He saw Katie's younger siblings Jake and Callie sit beside their mom. They were both crying very hard, but were managing to not make much noise. _Why did this have to happen?_ He thought. _Why does this have to happen to me?_ He thought to himself_. I haven't done anything_ _done anything bad. What did I do to deserve this?_ He kept thinking. He didn't know the answers to any of these. He kept sitting there as he kept feeling like it was his fault. He wanted to take that all away.

He sat on the couch breathing heavily. "I'm very sorry about Katie, Mr. And Mrs. T-T-Teppid" he said. They were both crying hard and holding each other's hands. "Thanks Jesse. We know how much she meant to you" said her mom. Jesse slowly nodded his head, "yeah". He swallows as he carefully waits to what's he's gonna say. "Did you find out who did this"? He asked. Her dad answered before her mom could, "yeah, they were a group of college baseball players who needed some money" he said. Jesse nodded his head. "Did you catch their names"? He asked again. "Well....no. They said their names, but...they lied" he said. "Ohhhh" Jesse said.

Jesse took a walk to Katie's house that day, and found out that it was very big mistake. He stood in front of her house, looking at what she used to live in. He saw her bedroom window. He saw her bed. Her curtains. It made him sadder to even look at it. He was about to cry when he heard a boy's voice from his side. "Are you a friend of Katie's"? The boy asked, he had group of at least 4 other boys behind him. They all had almost the same thing on. Baggy jeans that bunched a lot at their ankles. DC skating shoes, a college shirt of UCLA. And only the boy he was talking to had a baseball hat on.

"Yeah, I was" he said. Then he paused. "Are you"? He asked. The kid laughed and so did his gang. "Well sort of" he said. Jesse had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "How? You don't exactly look like the kind of people who Katie would've hung out with. She would've told me. But if you are then I don't know Katie that well. So how did you know her" he said. The boy laughed some more, "I'm the one who beat her up" he said.


	6. It's All Over Now

Chapter 6

Jesse's face became raged, "what"?! He yelled. The boy and his friends kept laughing, "we just wanted some money, but she wouldn't obey. So we made her, no harm done" he said. Jesse's face never left as he became even more furious, "NO HARM DONE"?! What do you mean 'no harm done', YOU FREAKIN' KILLED HER"! he said. The boys froze and stared at Jesse. They didn't say anything, they just were gawking at him. "What do you mean we killed her"? she was moving when we were done with her. Jesse kept breathing loudly and didn't move, his teeth and fists still clenched.

"You little sons of bitches"! he yelled at the top of his lungs. He took off from his heal and ran at full speed and jumped onto the guy he was talking to. The jump knocked the guy over and onto the ground. Jesse sat on his stomach and punched him hard in the face. His friends tried to pull him off, but he punched them away. He kept punching away at the guy until one of his friends pushed him off. His face fell onto the hard, rough pavement, scraping his hand. He got up ran towards another one of them and punched him in the face, but another friend punched him away. Scraping his other hand and the back legs.

Jesse got up and stood for a bit his hands throbbing and bleeding a little. He looks at them as if he's a psychopath. One of the guys runs towards him but Jesse punches him harder than he ever did before. The guy fell to the ground. He ran to another guy and jumped on him, knocking him down. He sat on his stomach and started punching him too. It wasn't very long until another guy picked him up pushed him onto the pavement. This time scraping the back of his head. Jesse yelled in pain. He got up but someone as he head and nose were bleeding as someone pushed down from behind.

The person grabbed a hold of him and turned him onto his back. He sat on his stomach as he began to punch Jesse a few times. Jesse tried to block them, but it was useless. Sirens are heard in the distance and the guy on Jesse stops punching with his fist high in the air. "Beat it man, it's the cops" one guy said. The guy on Jesse stopped immediately and ran away as fast he could. Everyone else followed. Jesse got up, checking his head and nose, they were both bleeding. Jesse looked at his hands and knees, they were badly scraped. He looked at the first he beat, on the ground, not moving. He looks at another guy, barely moving. 4 cop cars surround Jesse and the other guys.

"Stop right where you are and out your hands on your head. You have committed a crime in a civilian area with at least 2 witnesses in jeopardy. You are under arrest" a cop said under a megaphone. Jesse didn't move as the cop handcuffed him and put him in the car. "Get these body outta here. Go folks, there's nothing to see here. Go back to your homes". Jesse looked out the window at the cops putting the bodies on a stretcher. _Bodies? Did I kill someone?_ Jesse thought Jesse had never anything like this, he considered himself a criminal. He knew it was over, he knew the worst was going to happen. It was all over. This was it.


	7. Weird Clump Of Stars

Chapter 7

"Quiet, everybody in the court"! Said the judge, banging his gavel hard. "Will the defendant please rise" he said. Jesse stood up. "Now, did you, Jesse Elliot Miller, savagely beat up a group of boys on March 13th at 3:31 and 23 seconds 1998"? He asked. Jesse timidly nodded, "y-y-yes your honor" he said shyly, he didn't look up. And are you aware that you killed 1 man and put 1 in a coma"? He asked again. Jesse slowly shook his head, "n-no your honor" he said. Jesse had no idea he killed someone, he knew he was a criminal now.

"Well Jesse, since you're too young for jail. I will give you 2 options" the judge said. Jesse looked up at him. "1. You go to Juvenile Delinquent Center, or 2. You can go to a Juvenile Correctional Facility at Camp Green Lake" he said. Jesse instantly knew which he wanted to go to, but he decided to hesitate. "Well, I-I-I've never b-been to c-camp before" he said. The judge sat back in his chair. "Well then Jesse I hereby sentence you to 18 months at Camp Green Lake. Case closed" he said, and bangs down his gavel.

Jesse sat in the back of the long school bus with his backpack clutched tightly in his arms. He looks out the window at the gigantic dirty field. He looks over to the other kid on the bus, the kid smiles at him. Jesse didn't respond, he turned back to the window as he became very tired. His began to shut as he fell away from consciousness.

"Look Jesse, look at that constellation thingy" Katie said, pointing to an oddly-shaped clump of stars. "What, that"? Jesse asked, pointing to it. Katie smiled, "yeah" she said. They both look at it in awe. They both sit against the cold, rock wall in the dark night. Katie rests her head on Jesse's shoulder. Jesse rubs her head, then kisses it. "I love you Katie" he said. Katie smiled, "I love you too Jesse" she said. And they look up at the lovely-shaped clump of stars. A heart.

"Hey kid, get off while I'm young" said the bus driver who was losing his patience. Jesse got up and walked down the narrow isle of the bus and hopped out. His backpack still grasped in his arms. He looked out on the field and saw nothing but dirt and sand. "Where's the lake"? He said and looked to the bus driver. The driver pulled the lever and the doors closed. He zoomed off in the distance and sprayed dust all over Jesse's body. He looks over to the building next to him. There was a sign that hung from the doorway that said, "Wreck Room" on it. A small, thin walked out of it. "You must be Jesse. I'm Mr. Pendanski, your counselor while you're here. Follow me" he said.

He led him to a small, rusty shack which looked like it would fall down. "Please enter. We will be serving dinner soon" he said and turned and walked towards the tents. Jesse walked inside the cluttered, dusty shack. He saw a man wearing cowboy boots and had his feet on the desk. He noticed the straw hat he had on. Well, at least it can't get any worse, Jesse thought. The man put his feet down and walked in front of Jesse. "My name is Mr. Sir" he said.


	8. Stanley

Chapter 8

Jesse laughed in his head. He was too upset to laugh out loud. Mr. Sir didn't move, he just cowered over Jesse. He was chewing something, but Jesse couldn't make out what it was. He smacking his lips and making nasty sounds. "When you speak to me, you will refer to me by my name. Is that clear"? He asked. Jesse didn't look at him, "y-y-yes sir" he said. Mr. Sir became vexed, "that's Mr. Sir" he said. Jesse still looks at the floor, "sorry Mr. Sir" he said shyly. Mr. Sir walked to a little closet in the corner of the small shack. "You will receive 2 jumpsuits, 1 for work and 1 for leisure. When you are finished with your hole, you can go and chill or kick it or whatever it is you kids say with your homeboys in the Wreck Room" he said. Jesse looked up at him like he was thought he was serious. "No change out of your clothes and get into your suit. Now" he said. Jesse didn't waste any time and went right to it.

When he was all done, Mr. Pendanski came in and led him out. "Was that the Warden"? Jesse asked him, as soon as they were out. Mr. Pendanski shook his head, "no. Mr. Sir is the uh, the uh. Well come to think of it I don't know what he is. 10 years of working here and I don't know what the hell it is he does here" he said, shrugging. "That's the Warden's cabin" he said, pointing to a much bigger shack than Mr. Sir's. The curtains were drawn and there was smoke coming out of the chimney. Finally, they both arrived at the tent: D-Tent. "Welcome Jesse. This will your home for the past six months. And these are your roommates. Get to know them, you'll have to. Dinner is in 10 minutes. Good day" he said and walked the door.

Jesse walked to an empty cot at the very back. He set his bag down and watched everyone else. He saw two tough black guys playing cards. He saw one writing a letter and one laying on his cot all alone. The one writing the letter spotted Jesse and put his letter down on his cot. He walked over to him and sat on the cot next to his. "Hi my name is Stanley" the boy said. Jesse looked up at him with a slightly sad and worried face. "What's your name"? He asked. Jesse hesitated before answering, "Jesse" he said. Stanley nodded and held out his hand, Jesse shook his hand. "What do you think of Camp Green Lake so far"? He asked. Jesse pondered and shrugged, "its okay. Do we really have to dig a hole every day"? He asked like he couldn't believe it. Stanley lightly laughed, "yeah. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it" he said.

Jesse looked around at the other campers and then one all alone. "Who're they"? He asked pointing to the guys playing cards. Stanley turned around to look at them, "oh that fat one is Armpit. And the other one is X-Ray. X-Ray is the leader. And trust me, you don't want to make them mad. You'll be in serious crap" he said. Jesse laughed then looked at the one alone. "And who's that"? He asked. Stanley saw him and motioned him to come over. The boy did and sat right next to him. "This is Hector. Everyone calls him Zero. He only talks to me" he said. Jesse nodded but figured he'd give talking a whirl, "hey Hector" he said. Hector didn't answer but looked at Stanley. "It's okay, say hi" Stanley said. "Hey" said Hector.

"How come they call you Zero"? Jesse said after a while. Hector didn't answer, "he doesn't like to talk about it" Stanley said. Jesse nodded. "Does Mr. Sir always act that way? Kinda cool and hip" Jesse asked. Stanley and Hector laughed, "yeah, he's think he's one of us. He never had a childhood" said Hector. Jesse joined in laughing. He looked at Stanley for a while, "hey what's your nickname"? He asked. Before Stanley could answer, Hector bumped in, "Caveman" he said. Jesse nodded confusedly.

"Are there any girls here? Or is it an all boys camp"? Jesse asked. Stanley looked like he was really tired of this question and rolled his eyes, "no there are girls here. Some" he said. Hector looked bored and tired and fell onto his back on the cot. Just then Mr. Pendanski walked in, "come on fellas, time for dinner" he said.


	9. Remembering Katie

Chapter 9

Jesse sat in his chair, looking at the inedible pile of muck in front of him. He looks up at Stanley with a what-am-I-supposed-do-with-this look. Stanley shrugged like he was sorry, "sorry man, that's all we get" he said and dove back into his food. Jesse looked back down and hopelessly dove in. It didn't taste too bad, kind of like cold, wet crackers. Jesse almost gagged on it. Everyone at the table looks at him. "So man, what'd you do"? X-Ray asked. Jesse looked up at him like he didn't know what he talking about, his food hanging out of his mouth. "What"? He asked. X-Ray and Armpit laughed. "You know, what'd you do to get here"? Asked a Hispanic boy. Jesse stopped eating and looked at everyone, Stanley and Zero didn't, they just ate their food. "I don't think he wants to talk about it" the Hispanic boy said tauntingly. Jesse looked back down at his food and started eating again. "Yeah, I think he it makes him sad. Its okay man, you can talk to me about it" he said again laughing. Stanley glared at him, "shut up Magnet" he said, "Jesse, I forgot to introduce you to the guys" he said. "This is Magnet, he said pointing to the Hispanic boy. "And that's Zigzag" he said pointing to a tall boy with extremely wild hair. "And that's Squid" he said pointing to a tall boy with a toothpick in his mouth. "Sup"? Said Squid. "And you already X-Ray and Armpit and Zero" he said. Jesse nodded.

In the Wreck Room, Jesse watched everyone play pool and watch TV. He sat in the corner all by himself. For a while he watched Zigzag, Squid, X-Ray and Magnet play pool. Zigzag and Squid were winning. "Yeah man, we're kicking your guys' asses" Squid said. "Shut the hell up" X-Ray said, looking like he was about to punch him. Jesse figured he was a sore loser. He turned over to Stanley and Zero, sitting on the couch. Stanley was holding many pieces of paper and Zero would read them off. Jesse figured he couldn't read. It made him think differently of him. There was nothing else to do. He tried to keep his mind off Katie as much as possible. He didn't want to cry again. But what he'd give to just to see her again. Hear her voice again. He kept shaking his head to lose the sad thoughts. It didn't work well. "You okay there Jesse"? Asked Stanley from across the room. Jesse came to life as we was spacing out. "Yeah. I'm fine" he lied. "Come on guys. Time for bed" Mr. Pendanski said.

Jesse layed in bed, looking at the ceiling. X-Ray and Armpit were laughing hysterically and talking very loudly. "Man guys. Shut the hell up" said Squid from right next to Jesse. They didn't stop. Their laughter echoed the room. "No man, tomorrow, let's put a fake lizard in that new guy's hole" said X-Ray. "Dude, he can hear you" Armpit aiming his head at Jesse. They both looked at him. Jesse didn't move, he stared at the ceiling. "Rex. Theodore. Go to sleep" said Mr. Pendanski. They did so. Jesse continued to stare at the ceiling as if he was in a trance. He thought about Katie. The first time they met. And when they would meet every night in Katie's backyard and watch the stars. He remembered the first time they held hands. The first time they saw a movie together. It was 8 years ago they met. _Wow, has it really been that long?_ Jesse thought. They were both 7 years old, at the park. They spotted each other. Jesse thought she was very cute and walked up to her.

"_Do you want to play tag"? He asked her. Katie looked up at him and smiled, "sure. Can I Mom"? She said. "Yeah, go ahead" her mom said. Katie got up and tagged Jesse, "you're it"! She said running away. "Okay" he said and began running like wild and missed several times before he got her. "HA, got ya"! H said. They continued for several minutes. Jesse stopped to catch his breath but was suddenly forced onto the ground. "Got ya" Katie said. Jesse slightly groaned, "wow, you're really strong for a girl" he said. "Thanks. You're really weak for a boy" she said laughing. She let go of him and fell on the grass and so did Jesse._

"_Look at that cloud! It looks a potato"! Jesse said, pointing to it. Katie looked at him like he was crazy, "they all look like potatoes! Potatoes have no shape"! she said laughing. Jesse joined her and laughed too. "So what's you're name"? Jesse said after he was done laughing several minutes later. "Katie. What's yours"? She said. "Its Jesse" he said. They both smiled at each other. "what school do you go to"? Katie said after a while. "Lake Hills" he said. Katie dropped her mouth, "I'm going there in the fall"! I'll see you there"! she said. "Cool"! Jesse said. They both smiled at each other again, the picture froze. _Jesse didn't let it go.

How much he missed Katie. There was an empty hole in him. He thought there was nothing to fill it. He didn't think he'd be happy again. He didn't want to remember any more. It'd only make him sadder. The whole tent was silent except for the sound of Jesse crying. They went into his mouth, they were salty. He wished someone would take him out of this terrible place. Less then a day, he'd been there and already he was miserable. Katie wasn't there. The hole in him was empty and there was nothing to fill it. Nothing.


End file.
